Figure 8 coil winder



A ril 2, 1968 K. V. HUDE ET AL FIGURE 8 COIL WINDER 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS WILLlAM J. POWERS, JR. KARL V. HUDE Filed Sept 26, 1966 ATTORNEY April 2, 1968 v. HUDE ET l. 3,375,988

FIGURE 8 COIL WINDER Filed Set. 26, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 73 1 INVENTORS WILLIAM J. POWERS, JR. KARL V. HUDE ATTORNEY April 2, 1968 K. v. HUDE ET AL 3,375,988

FIGURE 8 COIL WINDER Filed Se t. 26, 1966 4 heetSShe t 5 INVENTORS WILLIAM J. POWERS,JR.

KARL V. HUDE g) ATTQRNEY A ril 2, 1968 K. v. HUDE ET AL 3,375,988

FIGURE 8 COIL WINDER Filed Sept. 26, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F I G. 5

INVENTORS WILLIAM J. POWERS,JR.

KARL v. HUDE L ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,375,988 FIGURE 8 COIL WINDER Karl V. Hude and William J. Powers, Jr., Wilmington,

DeL, assignors to E. I. du Pout de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 26, W66, Ser. No. 581,889 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-1) This invention relates to strand winding machinery and more particularly to an improved winder for packaging strands of wire, etc., into large figure 8 coils.

Albeit the invention is described in connection with packaging detonator (e.g., blasting cap) lead wire, it is equally well-suited for winding other strands such as yarn, woven wire and filaments of metal or synthetic fiber.

It is generally preferred to package detonator lead wire into figure 8 coils for this type of package can be easily unwound and straightened under field conditions without kinking or entanglement. For example, in most blasting operations once the detonator, which is afiixed to one end of the wire, is placed into an explosive charge, the operator needs only to pull on the other end to unwind and straighten out the coil.

However, packaging lead Wire into figure 8 coils is not economically attractive unless one machine can simultaneously and automatically prepare a number of such coils at very high rates. Although there are machines that approach tthis goal when winding relatively short lead wires into small coils about to 7 inches long, a need exists for a coil winder that will package, into the desirable figure 8 coils, the extra long lead wire needed for many blasting operations. This cannot be done satisfactorily on machines designed to produce coils less than 8 inches long because the increased number of turns required to wind the extra length of lead wire renders the coils unduly bulky and also susceptible to entanglement when unwound in the field. For example, it is desirable to package 100-foot lead wire into figure 8 coils that are about 12 inches long and contain about 50 turns of wire, as opposed to coils about 7 inches long containing about 85 turns per coil. On the other hand, scaling up existing types of machinery so that they will produce larger coils, e.g., 12 inches long, does not solve this problem because their mode of operation requires a spacing between the coils being wound, that is greater than the length of the coils themselves, thus making the machine too space consuming.

The object of this invention is to provide a figure 8 coil winder capable of automatically and simultaneously producing, at high speeds, a plurality of long-length coils on centers far less than the coils length. These objects are attained by a figure 8 coil winder comprising:

(a) Two pairs of stationary vertically aligned, guide members;

(b) A three-way joint slidably mounted on each of said pairs of guide members, each said joint comprising a generally U-shaped yoke, the two arms of which are respectively mounted on the guide members for vertical movement, and a saddle member positioned between and carried by the arms of the yoke, and mounted therein for lateral movement in a horizontal plane, said saddle member having a passage therethrough which extends in a direction normal to said lateral movement;

(c) A rigid horizontal crossbar on which are mounted a plurality of substantially horizontally spaced and aligned wire feed shuttles, and an extension means at each end of the crossbar, slidably journaled in the passage through the respective saddle members;

(d) Drive means connected to each three-way joint for simultaneously, vertically reciprocating said joints, thereby vertically reciprocating the crossbar while maintaining its horizontal disposition;

(e) Rocker means connected to the extension means at one end of the crossbar for twice reciprocating the crossbar in a horizontal direction during each of its vertical reciprocations; and

(f) Cam means operatively associated with each saddle member for displacing the crossbar in a horizontal direction normal to the crossbars longitudinal axis, said displacement reaching a maximum at about the middle of the crossbars vertical movement.

The ab0ve-described coil winder is capable of producing figure 8 coils 12 inches long on only 5-inch centers, about the minimum spacing required for producing 5-inch coils with strand winders of known design. It is to be understood, however, that the above and. hereinafter described structure and modus operandi, which made the production of such coils a reality, is equally well-suited for. winding larger and smaller coils on correspondingly larger and smaller centers, respectively.

The invention is best understood with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of a preferred coil Winder of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view taken along line AA of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic, perspective view of one of the two three-way joints shown in FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 shows a partially wound figure 8 coil on a pair of retractable receiver pins; and

FIGURE 5 is a schematic view of the coil winders drive and control mechanisms.

Although the invention is described and claimed in terms of its vertically and horizontally arranged components and their movements in those directions, this is done solely for the purpose of illustrating the relative positions and movements of the various components and is not intended to require that the coil winder as a whole be oriented in any particular manner. In the drawings, like numerals designate similar parts.

Referring now to FIGURES l and 2, 1 is a reciprocating crossbar which carries a plurality of side by side wire feed shuttles 2 (8 shown) through which the wire being wound passes. Crossbar 1 is gimbaled at opposite ends in three-way joints generally designated 3a and 3b which are slidably mounted on stationary vertical guide posts 4 that are attached to the rigid steel frame generally designated 5. Joints 3a and 3b are the same, except that one is the opposite hand version of the other, and are operatively connected to cranks 6a and 6b which, in turn, are pinned to counter-rotating, motor-driven eccentrics 7a and 7b.

As best seen in FIGURE 3 which is a schematic perspective view of the right side of FIGURES 1 and 2, each three-way joint is composed of a generally U-shaped yoke 8 whose two vertical arms 8' and 8" are slidably mounted on guide posts 4, and a center saddle 9 that includes stub shafts 10 and 11 which are respectively journaled in arms 8' and 8 of yoke 8 for independent movement in a horizontal plane. The bottom of the yoke is fitted with a clevis 12 to operatively engage driven crank 6a that moves the joints up and down on guide posts 4. Stub shaft 11 carries .a cam follower 13 which mates with open curvilinear cam groove 1.4 of displacement cam 15. Both cams 15, one for each three-way joint, are securely attached to frame 5. As joints 3a and 312 travel vertically along guide posts 4, followers 13 coact with cam grooves 14 and cause a slight displacement of saddles 9 along shafts 10 and 11 in the direction of their common axis. Maximum displacement occurs at about the mid-point of the up and down stroke of the joints, which are shown just below that point in FIGURE 1. The purpose of this motion is described later.

The ends of crossbar 1 are modified by extensions 17a and 1712 that have machined guide surfaces 18 along their top and bottom edges, which are slidably engaged within the passages through saddles 9 for movement in either direction along the longitudinal axis of crossbar 1. As shown in FIGURE 3, extension 17a, unlike 17b, is provided with a double-end follower 19 that mates with matching groove 20 of rocker 21. This rocker is supported on trunnions 22 and is attached to one end of a rocker arm 23, the other end of which is pinned to a motordriven rotary eccentric 24. Trunnions 22 are rotatably journaled in conventional bearing supports 25 which are attached to frame 5. The rotary motion of eccentric 24 causes the rocker 21 to oscillate a predetermined angular amount, thus shifting crossbar 1 back and forth along its longitudinal axis. Follower 19 is both rotatably and slidably journaled in bearing 26 at the end of extension 17a, and frontal opening 27 of groove 20 exceeds the thickness of 17a by an amount sufiicient to permit the lateral displacement imparted to 17a by cam 15 via stub shaft 11 of saddle 9.

From the foregoing it is seen that the gimbaled support arrangement of three-way joints 3a and 317 provides crossbar 1 with freedom of movement both vertically and in two horizontal directions that are at 90 to each other. To facilitate this motion, yoke 8 and saddle 9 of these joints preferably are provided with antifriction bearings 29, 30 (FIGURE 3) and 31.

In operation, joints 3a and 3b move up and down in unison through a preset stroke and horizontally carry crossbar 1. Meanwhile, rocker 21 is pivoting thereby shifting crossbar 1 a predetermined amount sideways, first in one direction and then in the opposite direction without changing its horizontal attitude. The design of rocker 21 is such that crossbar 1 horizontally reciprocates twice during each of its vertical reciprocations, i.e., during the time it takes for the crossbar to travel vertically from its lowest to highest positions and back again. The net effect of these simultaneous movements is to cause all the wire feed shuttles 2 to trace identical figure 8 paths, about as shown by the dotted lines on FIGURE 1, on closely s aced centers, i.e., center separated by a distance equal to that between the longitudinal axes of the wire feed shuttles.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, opposite each shuttle 2, there is provided a pair of spaced wire-receiving pins 33 which are attached to a support frame 34. Frame 34 may be part of a conveying means such as a moving belt, drum or platform that indexes a new bank of pins (8 pairs for the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2) into position after the coils on the preceding bank have been completed. Each set of pins 33 and frame 34 are adapted with actuation means, diagrammatically shown as 35, e.g., fluid actuators or mechanical linkages, for gradually retracting pins 33 during the winding sequence so that succeeding turns of wire do not overlap. A strip-off bar 36, which is slidable along the pins, is actuated, after termination of the winding sequence, by means not shown, to transfer the completed coils from the pins to other holding means for further processing. Each wire feed shuttle 2 comprises an outer tubular member 37 that is fastened to crossbar 1. Rotatably mounted within 37 is a feed tube 38 which is fastened to curved wire guide 39. The wire guide has two side members 40, a recessed, wear-resistant, arcuate guide cam 41, and a pin 42 that bridges members 40. The wire being wound extends through feed tube 38, around cam 41 in the recess defined by 41 and side members 40, and then around pin 42 which reverse bends and straightens the wire as it leaves shuttle 2. Since wire guide 39 is rotatable, the tension on the wire causes it to pivot as shuttle 2 traces a figure 8 path around pins 33, thus preventing excessive abrasion of the wire. The position of these pins relative to the figure 8 path followed by shuttle 2 is substantially as shown in FIGURE 1.

As previously mentioned, in the mid-stroke region of the vertical movement, crossbar 1 is gradually displaced by the interaction of earns 15; that is, crossbar 1 gradually shifts a small amount back and forth in the direction normal to the sideways movement caused by rocker 21. This displacement, which reaches a maximum at about vertical mid-stroke where the turns of wire on receiver pins 33 cross over, is designed to shift the crossbar 1 and by that the feed shuttles 2 a sufficient distance away from the deposited turns so that wire guides 39 move past the crossover points without frictionally abrading the wire.

FIGURE 5 schematically shows suitable drive and control mechanisms for the coil winder of this invention. 6a and 6b are the previously-described cranks that are pinned at one of their ends in the clevises of three-way joints 3a and 3b (not shown) and are connected at their opposite ends to driven eccentrics 7a and 7b. These eccentrics are rotatably journaled in commercial type antifriction bearings (not shown), and are counterbalanced and driven in counterrotation to offset any unbalanced moment of inertia due to the moving components. Also, rocker arm 23 is operatively connected at one end to rocker 21 (not shown) and at the other end to rotary eccentric 24 which is similarly counterbalanced. Rotary eccentrics 7a and 7b are mechanically coupled by idler gears 45a and 45b to the output of a gear reduction train 46. All three eccentrics are driven by a standard variable speed hydraulic motor 47 that is equipped with a conventional hydraulic pump and servo control mechanism (not shown). Also, connected to gear train 46 are wire counting means 44 which is adjusted to send a signal that terminates the Winding sequence after a preselected length of wire has been coiled on the receiver pins, and means 48, e.g., a servo control A.C. generator, for monitoring and maintaining the output speed of the motor at a predetermined constant speed.

The coil winder of this invention preferably is used in combination with a conveyor system that automatically positions new sets of receiver pins 33 in winding position opposite wire feed shuttles 2 immediately after each coil winding cycle. A suitable conveyor comprises a drum that rotates about its longitudinal axis, which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of crossbar 1, and carries peripherally spaced rows of pin sets that are successively rotated into horizontal alignment with the wire feed shuttles, each pair of pins in the row being aligned opposite a shuttle in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. To assure that repeated winding cycles are effected smoothly and with a minimum of interruption when using such a conveyor, it is desirable that crossbar 1 terminate a winding sequence at about mid-stroke, i.e., about half way between receiver pins 33. Whether the crossbar stops on the upstroke or downstroke depends on the pin conveyors direction of rotation. If the pins carrying the completed coils are to move upward, the crossbar is stopped on its downstroke and vice versa so that the wire is constantly maintained under tension. In either case, the winding sequence is terminated by a velocity and position feedback mechanism controlling motor 47.

The feedback mechanism shown in FIGURE 5 is actuated at the beginning of the next to last up and down stroke by a signal initiated by wire counting means 44. Upon actuation, motor 47 is switched from the control of monitoring means 48 to the control of position-control cam 49, which has a contoured profile designed to correspond to a known position of crossbar 1, and variable voltage transformer 50 which senses that contour and whose output voltage thus varies with the position of the crossbar. At the same time transformer 50 is energized, roller switch 5'1 is brought into contact with notched position-stop cam 52. The notch on this cam is positioned so that it actuates switch 51 at about the middle of the crossbars last downstroke. The contoured profile of the position-control cam 49 steadily changes the voltage output of transformer 50 so that the power input to motor 47 is gradually reduced. Consequently, at about the time crossbar 1 is at the midpoint position, power input to the motor 47 is substantially zero and the actuating notch in cam 52 is in position to trigger the switch 51. When this switch is triggered, latch 53 is actuated locking the eccentric drives in place. The conveyor and its receiver pins 33 are then rotated upwardly in a suitable fashion to bring new sets of pins into alignment with shuttles 2. At that point, the control system is signaled unlocking the mechanisms and switching the motor 47 back under the control of tachometer 48. From thereon, the winding cycle is repeated. After the new cycle is underway, the wires connecting the first and second sets of coils are cut by conventional mechanical cutters.

An example of the coil winder of this invention and its use for winding 8, twelve-inch long figure 8 coils, each containing about 100 feet of duplex wire is as follows:

The duplex wire is composed of a pair of about 20 gauge copper, aluminum or iron conductors on Aa-inch centers, which conductors are coated with, and bridged by, a web of 5 to 10 mil nylon or high-density polyethylene. The coil Winder is scaled up from FIGURES l and 2 so that the up and down strokes of crossbar 1 are each inches long, the sideways motion imparted to crossbar 1 by rocker 21 is 5 inches long in each direction, the rocker pivots through an angle of about 60, and the lateral displacement caused by cam 15 is one-half inch. Yoke 8, crossbar 1, and cranks 6a, 6b and 23 preferably are of cast aluminum alloy, whereas saddle 9, cam 15, followers 13 and 19, shafts 4, bearing surfaces 18, rocker 21, and Wire guide 39 are made of steel. Opposite each feed shuttle 2 is a pair of /sinch diameter receiver pins 33 that are 12 inches apart, and adjacent pairs of pins are 5 inches apart, as are shuttles 2. The row of eight pairs of pins is mounted on the previously described rotatable conveyor drum.

The ends of the duplex wires are fed through tubes 33 and wire guides 39 of shuttles 2 in the manner shown in FIGURE 4, and are then secured in clasps (not shown) adjacent pins 33. The wire is from a multi-end creel device (not shown) which is equipped with a standard tension control that maintains the wire under a constant tension of about 2 to 3 pounds. Wire counting means 44 is adjusted to switch motor 47 from the control of monitoring means 48 to the control of transformer 50 after 49 turns (about 98 feet) of wire have been wound. The winder is actuated and brought up to a speed of 150 figure 8 turns (cycles) per minute, with eccentrics 7a, 7b and 24 each rotating at the same speed. Meanwhile, the receiver pins are retracting at a rate of 0.16 inch per turn. At the beginning of the 50th and last turn, wire counting means 44 switches motor 47 to the control of transformer 50 which stops the winding sequence in the middle of the last downstroke in the manner previously described. The gear train is locked by the coaction of switch 51, latch 53 and notch 54, and the row of coils, each containing 50 turns of the wire, is rotated upwardly, and a new set of pins is rotated into winding position. The control system is signaled, unlocking the gear train and the winding cycle is repeated.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the winder of this invention is capable of winding figure 8 coils on centers less than half the coils length and at very high rates of speed. The same holds true for coils of any length in the range of about from 8 to 18 inches.

We claim:

1. A figure 8-coil winder comprising:

(a) two pairs of stationary vertically aligned, guide members;

(b) a three-Way joint slidably mounted on each of said pairs of guide members, each said joint comprising a generally U-shaped yoke, the two arms of which are respectively mounted on the guide members for vertical movement, and a saddle member positioned between and carried by the arms of the yoke, and mounted therein for lateral movement in a horizontal plane, said saddle member having a passage therethrough which extends in a direction normal to said lateral movement;

(0) a rigid horizontal crossbar on which are mounted a plurality of substantially horizontally spaced and aligned wire feed shuttes, and an extension means at each end of the crossbar, slidably journaled inthe passage through the respective saddle members;

(d) drive means connected to each three-way joint for simultaneously, vertically reciprocating said joints, thereby vertically reciprocating the crossbar while maintaining its horizontal disposition;

(e) rocker means connected to the extension means at one end of the crossbar for twice reciprocating the crossbar in a horizontal direction during each of its vertical reciprocations; and

(f) cam means opertaively associated with each saddle member for displacing the crossbar in a horizontal direction normal to the crossbars longitudinal axis, said displacement reaching a maximum at about the middle of the crossbars vertical movement.

2. A coil winder of claim 1 wherein the rocker means includes a rocker pivotally journaled for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of said saddles lateral movement, said rocker having a longitudinal groove extending in a direction normal to the rockers axis of rotation; and wherein said extension means at one end of the crossbar includes follower means rotatable about, and slidable along an axis parallel to the rockers rotational axis.

3. A coil winder of claim 2 wherein each saddles lateral movement is along two coaxial stub shafts that are slidably journaled in the arms of said yoke, and a cam follower is attached to one of said stub shafts and is slidably mounted within a generally vertical stationary cam groove that curves away from and then back toward the crossbar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,672,144 6/1928 Zanchi 28-2l 2,895,210 7/1959 Hubbard 28-72 3,033,060 5/1962 Nemec 242-8421 3,233,840 2/1966 Turner 242-67.1

BILLY S. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FIGURE 8-COIL WINDER COMPRISING: (A) TWO PAIRS OF STATIONARY VERTICALLY ALIGNED, GUIDE MEMBERS; (B) A THREE-WAY JOINT SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID PAIRS OF GUIDE MEMBERS, EACH SAID JOINT COMPRISING A GENERALLY U-SHAPED YOKE, THE TWO ARMS OF WHICH ARE RESPECTIVELY MOUNTED ON THE GUIDE MEMBERS FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT, AND A SADDLE MEMBER POSITIONED BETWEEN AND CARRIED BY THE ARMS OF THE YOKE, AND MOUNTED THEREIN FOR LATERAL MOVEMENT IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE, SAID SADDLE MEMBER HAVING A PASSAGE THERETHROUGH WHICH EXTENDS IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO SAID LATERAL MOVEMENT; (C) A RIGID HORIZONTAL CROSSBAR ON WHICH ARE MOUNTED A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY SPACED AND ALIGNED WIRE FEED SHUTTES, AND AN EXTENSION MEANS AT EACH END OF THE CROSSBAR, SLIDABLY JOURNALED IN THE PASSAGE THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE SADDLE MEMBERS; (D) DRIVE MEANS CONNECTED TO EACH THREE-WAY JOINT FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY, VERTICALLY RECIPROCATING SAID JOINTS, THEREBY VERTICALLY RECIPROCATING THE CROSSBAR WHILE MAINTAINING ITS HORIZONTAL DISPOSITION; (E) ROCKER MEANS CONNECTED TO THE EXTENSION MEANS AT ONE END OF THE CROSSBAR FOR TWICE RECIPROCATING THE 